Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon

Last night we were lucky enough to view the Super Harvest Moon. 

None of the photos below have been enhanced or edited.

What we learned was for the first time in almost 20 years the beginning of autumn would have a full moon.  The phenomenon was for the moon to look wider and fuller plus Venus Jupiter was to be brighter than normal too.  Maybe it was just me but I do think it was brighter than usual.

Luckily it was a fairly clear evening with just a few clouds.

I was able to take a few photos but with my limited photo taking skills they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  I was hoping you could see the craters in the photos but when a flash went off the moon just looked a dot.  Without the flash, if I zoomed in too much it looked like I was taking photos straight into a lighbulb.

I did get a couple of shots that show the clouds illuminated and you can see Jupiter as the small dot to the lower right of the moon.

Maybe we won't have to wait another 20 years to see it again.

Birthdays and Killing Time

There has been very little going on in our little corner of the world.  We spend most of our days, after work, being "lazy".  (Lazy meaning doing what we want to do)

Weekend before last Craig and I went to our dear friends house to celebrate the Davis' birthdays.  Laurie had her birthday earlier in the month but we didn't get together other than she and I went to lunch.  Anyway, last Saturday Laurie wanted to surprise Albert for his birthday after he got off work.  Albert has been working 12 hour shifts so he didn't want a big shindig.  Laurie had told Albert it was just going to be the 2 of them but when he arrived home there Craig and I were...surprise. 

Since we had not gotten together for Laurie's birthday, I volunteered to cook so that Albert and Laurie could relax. We had grilled chicken fajitas and I had made an Angel Food cake for desert.  When we left Albert and Laurie were still enjoying themselves in the pool.

The next day Craig, Josh and I went to Galveston to kill the day.  We walked on the beach, watched some people try to surf and ate lunch.  It was a very relaxing day.

Last weekend Craig and Josh went to Louisiana for a company golf tournament.   Since Josh has moved back to Houston, his dog spent the weekend with me.

Saturday, Laurie and I headed for Galveston for some girl time.  We arrived at the Seawall a little before 9 so we could stroll the beach before it got crowded.  We walked 4.2 miles round trip.  We really enjoyed the sand between our toes and the water splashing around us.

After our stroll we went to The 'Original' Mexican Cafe.  We ate too much but really enjoyed cooling off under air-conditioning before we set out for The Strand.  (The Strand is the historical district on the harbour side of the island).

Laurie and I broused the shops, bought our husbands some comfy shoes and ended our day at Kings Confectionary.  The confectionary is located in one of the turn of the century buildings.  It has wooden floors and antique fixtures.  They have all sorts of homemade fudge, chocolates and saltwater taffy; yum.  My favorite thing is the soda fountain.  They make all their soft drinks from syrup and soda water. Squirt the syrup in the glass, add soda water and stir.  It's the best!  As their advertisement says "step back in time where memories are everywhere".

On our way off the island, Laurie and I drove around to view the "tree sculptures".  After Hurricane Ike  many of the old oak trees died due to the surge of salt water over the island.  The dead trees were marked for cut down but many of the home owners where the trees were located wanted to keep the spirit of the trees alive so they decided to have them carved into sculptures.  There are many of them scattered around the island.  There are squirrels, owls, birds, dogs, etc.  One of the larger sculptures, which obviously came from a large tree, is a mermaid with dolphins jumping around her. 

click on the highlighted link above to see more sculptures

Last stop, Sonic for a cherry limeade.

Heat, Visitors and Shorty Wang

August is still in full swing. The weather is HOT but it's to be expected. Temperature wise it is in the mid to upper 90's which is not bad but when you add in the humidity it adds another 10 degrees. So with most of our days being around 95 to 98, the heat feels 105-108.

Last week Kimberly and Chloe came to stay for a few days while Mark was in California doing his training at Google.  We are all so proud of Mark.  He was recently hired by Google and will start his new job on Monday.

The week was very relaxing.  We stayed mostly around the house due to the heat but Chloe did get to enjoy another dip in the pool.  We bought a little float for her of course she is still too small to be in it without someone holding her but it did give her more freedom to kick and splash.   

Josh spent time around the house with us too.  Chloe is quite taken with her Uncle Josh. 

We did find one thing quite amusing while Chloe was visiting.  If she got "fussy" during the day all we had to do was turn on the TV to Anthony Bourdain-No Reservations and she would stop what she was doing and focus on him.   I guess she found his voice soothing and you can see in the photo she is mesmerized.

Kimberly and I spent some time doing some sewing and monogramming for Chloe.  Kimberly made her a Texas Tech tutu and monogrammed her a onesy so she will have something to wear in Austin to show her support for the Red Raiders. 

Kim also monogrammed her a lacrosse onesy to wear to her Daddy's lacrosse games.

I made Chloe a few little outfits that she can hopefully wear for a little while.  

I've got more material and more patterns so I will fill more days with more sewing in the weeks to come.  Just call me Shorty Wang.

Random Tidbits

Chloe, and Kimberly too, came for a visit last week.  We had such a good time.  Chloe entertained us all. 

We took her out to eat at Sam's Boat overlooking Clear Lake.   And we drove to Galveston but it was way too hot so we didn't stay.  Did I mention we are in the middle of an extreme heat wave?   The temp has in the upper 90's but when you throw in our humidity we have heat index temperatures of 107-109. 

We spent time in the pool just chillin.  Chloe really liked the water and she wore her itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini that her Great Aunt Devonn sent her. 

We didn't want to see them go home but Chloe needed to see her Daddy.  We can't wait until the next visit.

 

On a sad note, Josh's beloved dog of 15 years had to be put down.  Raider was more than just a pet to the family, he was our families "Marley".  It was a very hard day but we all knew the day was coming and it was definately time.  The family  has tons of funny stories about Raider's adventures.  He was one in a million.

Update:

We helped Josh move back to Houston from Austin.  He took a job advancement that required him to move and he is settled in his new place. 

2 Weeks in a Nutshell

July came in with a bang and the month is only half over.  A slowdown doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.

My mom came to visit at the end of June.  It was pretty weather when she arrived.  We drove to Austin so she could meet her Great Granddaughter Chloe and see Josh's home.  It was a quick trip but all went well.

The next day the feeder bands from Hurricane Alex started delivering rain to the Houston area.  We were spared the hurricane but got some much needed rain.  Rain is always welcome but then you have to deal with the mosquitoes and they are terrible!!!

My mom's flight was due to leave on Friday but many planes were delayed and/or grounded in other places so her plane didn't make it so she was rescheduled for Saturday (wish the airline would have told us before we got her and her luggage checked).  She did make it home safe and sound.

On Sunday the 4th, we had a few of Craig's work comrades and their wives over plus 2 couples Craig knows from other functions plus our dear friends/travel buddies Albert and Laurie.  Everyone swam, ate and swam some more.  Craig out did himself by smoking ribs and brisket for the event. They were delicious!  I think everyone had a good time. 

The next weekend one of Craig's work buddies call to say he had caught a bunch of saltwater trout and wanted to know if Craig would fry them up.  We had 2 couples over for the fish fry which was the perfect for the amount of fish.  We didn't get to enjoy the outdoors because by now the mosquitoes have taken over so we sat inside under the air conditioner.

This week I made a move in my Real Estate business.  I switched to a new broker.  I am now with TEXdot  Realtors.  I am very excited and can't wait to get my business up and running again; new website, new email, new signs, new business cards, everything.  It will take a while to get it all organized but it won't take long...hopefully.

Finally, our son Josh has taken a new position with the company he works for and will be moving back to Houston.  Josh and I have spent the past 2 days looking for a place for him to lease.  We were successful.  He has found a very nice townhouse and will be moving in a week.  Now all we have to do is get the house he owns leased.

That's it...the past 2 weeks in a nutshell.

Weekend with Chloe

This past weekend our son-in-law Mark had a lacrosse tournament in Houston.  We were thrilled to find out Kimberly, Mark and Chloe would be coming for a weekend visit. 

While Mark played in the hot and humid weather, the rest of us just relaxed around the house.

Chloe already has her Pop wrapped around her finger.

Look at those big blue eyes.

Enjoying a quiet evening by the pool with Shorty and Pop.

Chloe's first "dip" in the pool. 

Don't worry the pool is 92 degrees.

This photo reminds me of Kimberly. 

Long Overdue Updates

May rushed by in a flash.  Many exciting events took place.


1.  I celebrated by 50th birthday on the 9th.  Craig surprised me with a gift I had wanted for a long time; ballroom dance lessons. We now have our own Monday night version of Dancing with the Longcors. We have learned the Foxtrot and are now working on the Rumba. The best thing about the lessons and the one Craig is most excited about is I no longer lead. Craig has learned to lead on the dance floor and I have learned to follow. Both are big steps for us.



2.  Craig and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the 24th.   We had already celebrated with our cruise in April but Craig surprised me with flowers, dinner and dancing.

3.  Our Granddaughter Chloe was born on the 28th.  I spent a week at Kimberly and Mark's helping out.  I enjoyed every minute of it and tried real hard not to be in the way.  They really didn't need my help, they are very relaxed first time parents but I'm glad I was there.

4.  Our "grandparent" names have been chosen.  Craig is Pop and I am Shorty.  Unique names were chosen because there is already a Grandma, Granny, Grammy, Nana, Granddad and Grampy in the family.  In the grand scheme of things I know I'm not that short but in this family I am the shorty;  Craig-6'1", Kimberly-5'9", Joshua-6'3", Mark-6'3", Me 5'3". So as you can see Shorty is appropiate and the kids and Craig will call me shorty when I ask them to get something off the top shelf.  Of course I will ultimately be named by Chloe.  When she get old enough to talk who knows what our name will end up being.